Monday, December 24, 2012

In Remembrance

For some reason , ever sinceI started browsing newspapers, I amspontaneously drawn to the obituary column , which reminds me of theimminent mortalityofall life on this earth. It was a rude shockyesterday to learn about the sad
demise ofProf . Madan Sharma , who for
many years taught Mathematicsinthe R.P.C.S.D.B. College , Shimla , a privately
managed institution, which later on wastaken over by theGovernmentand rechristened asRajkiyaKanya Maha Vidyalaya or RKMV- meant exclusively for Girls. However it
wasstill the RPCSDB College , co-ed ,
when I studied therein the early
seventies . Prof. Madan Sharma or M.L.Sharmaas he wasknown, was a
Mathematics teacher, always immaculately dressed , smart and handsome. He could
be seen moving from one classroom to the othercarryingthe attendanceRegisterlike a platter , on which were placed the duster and thebox
containing chalk . Friends , who studied maths from himwere all enamoured of himfor not only
his style of teaching but also for his general demeanour- the way he carried
himself .A bachelor, he was an accomplished ice skaterandit
was said thathe had proxied for some
film star in the skating sceneon some
occasion. Well versed in English, Hindi & Punjabi , he also dabbled in
poetry in all the three languages and was a regular contributor to the college
magazine – Padma . He was regularly seen on the Mallas he also lived nearby . Age did not wither
him a bit and his zest for life was immense- his hair and moustaches always dyed jet-blacktill recently.

R.I.P Prof Sharma , it
would not be easy to forget you for
those who had the privilegeof being taught by you or knowing
you !